Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Winchester earn more than those in 75% of Canadian towns
In Winchester, 79% of residents aged 15 to 64 were working in May 2021, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 73%. Most commutes from Winchester take well under an hour: the average is 33 minutes, and 8.6% take 60 minutes or longer. Joblessness at the 2021 census: 7% of Winchester’s labour force; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
The work numbers behind Winchester
More people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 79% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 60%. In work ↓
Less unemployment than most towns
Unemployment was 7% at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. The Labour Force Survey for the wider area read 8% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Longer trips than most towns
Commutes take 33 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 8.6% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Winchester earns B− for jobs and income
Better than 47% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #332 of 866 in Ontario.
Its strongest measure is household income; its weakest, trip times.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Who in Winchester has a job
Of the 6 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry census division, 5 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 60% were working. A more recent figure, for the wider area: 59% in work in October 2026, by the Labour Force Survey. 65% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Statistics Canada counted on 11 May 2021, with much of the country under pandemic rules: more people were out of work or at home than usual.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
A longer commute than the middle of Canadian towns: 33 minutes from Winchester
Only 27% get to work within a quarter-hour, against 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 29.4 minutes. The middle of Ontario’s towns averages 28.6 minutes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
Winchester empties a little on a working day
37% of residents who commute work inside the municipality, against 70% in the middle of Canadian towns.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
63% of Winchester’s residents in work leave it to work; Ottawa takes the most
- Morrisburg490
- Ottawa330
- North Stormont165
- Kemptville160
- Long Sault100
- Embrun60
- Cardinal60
- Cornwall30
- Augusta25
- Alexandria20
- Ottawa1,440
- Kemptville195
- Embrun135
- Morrisburg90
- Cornwall50
- Gatineau25
- North Stormont25
- Cardinal15
- Brockville15
- Smiths Falls15
Coming the other way, Morrisburg sends the most (490).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
What households earned in Winchester: $90,100 in 2020
That puts Winchester 2% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. 3 of the 6 other places of 2,500+ in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry census division have a higher median. Pandemic benefits paid in 2020 lifted the incomes at the bottom, and they are counted here.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
6% of commuters from Winchester go without a car
Transit takes 0.6% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns. Nearly everyone drives: 93% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Home was the workplace for 24%, where the middle of Canadian towns has 21%.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry census division run 29% above their 2019 level
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 rose by 4%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 6,180 people on EI, 2.5 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 4.9 receive EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Not measured by town: EI beneficiaries (the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry census division). EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walkability in Winchester: graded B
Better than 65% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #587 of 866 in Ontario.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Out of 613 Canadian towns of 8,900 to 17,200, Winchester comes 314th on jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Saanich British Columbia | 12,986 | 85% | 5.9% | $121K | A+ |
| 2 | Sillery Quebec | 13,950 | 81% | 6.2% | $120K | A+ |
| 3 | Walsh Acres/Lakeridge/Garden Ridge Saskatchewan | 9,325 | 80% | 6.7% | $127K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Glebe-Dows Lake Ontario | 13,436 | 80% | 9.4% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 8 | Wellesley Ontario | 12,413 | 84% | 3.9% | $119K | A+ |
| 9 | Perth East Ontario | 13,423 | 86% | 3.9% | $96K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 312 | Whitehaven - Woodpark - Glabar Park Ontario | 11,111 | 73% | 10% | $84K | B− |
| 313 | Wellington North Ontario | 14,407 | 79% | 6.1% | $78K | B− |
| 314 | North Dundas Ontario | 12,706 | 79% | 7% | $90K | B− |
| 315 | Churchville Ontario | 9,043 | 71% | 13% | $142K | B− |
| 316 | Electoral Area C (Puntledge - Black Creek), Comox Valley British Columbia | 9,803 | 76% | 7.5% | $86K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 613 | René-Goupil Quebec | 11,663 | 58% | 15% | $54K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Winchester, and others among Ontario’s towns.
The places around Winchester, side by side
No closer places have figures: these lie 20–26 km from Winchester.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester | 79% | 7% | $90K | 33 min | B− | B |
| Morrisburg 19.8 km | 72% | 10% | $78K | 31.6 min | C− | B |
| Embrun 20.7 km | 81% | 5.4% | $123K | 29.3 min | A− | B |
| North Stormont 23.4 km | 78% | 5.9% | $92K | 33.4 min | B− | C+ |
| Kemptville 26 km | 78% | 7.6% | $108K | 31.7 min | B | C+ |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Winchester, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Where people commute. Jobs count everyone whose usual workplace lies in the municipality, residents or commuters from elsewhere, from Statistics Canada’s home-by-workplace table.
- Employment Insurance. Statistics Canada counts EI beneficiaries each month by census division. Seasonal work makes it swing, so read it as a trend, not a jobless rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. A monthly household survey by Statistics Canada, reported for metro areas and economic regions only. It supplies a recent rate next to the 2021 census figure.
- In work. Everyone with a job, whatever their age, divided by the residents aged 15 to 64 at the 2021 Census: below the municipality the census doesn’t split work by age, and this is the one rate every town and neighbourhood can be given.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Which towns we compare. Comparisons are with the median of Canadian towns and city neighbourhoods counting 2,500 people or more, reserves and entire cities excluded.
- The municipality’s figures. Statistics Canada counts Winchester as part of North Dundas, so every census figure on this page is the whole municipality’s.
Questions about work in Winchester
How many jobs are there in Winchester?
The 2021 census counted about 2,805 people working in Winchester: 0.9 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 411 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Winchester?
At the 2021 census 7% of the labour force had no job and was looking (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns). The latest monthly survey, for the Ottawa economic region, gives 8% in October 2026.
What is the average household income in Winchester?
The median household in Winchester had $90,100 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Winchester get to work?
By car: 93% of commuters, 0.6% take public transit, 4.4% walk and 1% cycle; on census day 24% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Winchester?
33 minutes is the average trip, with 27% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 8.6% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Winchester work?
Only 37% work in Winchester itself; the rest go first to Ottawa (1,440) and Kemptville (195).
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).